Is the boxing day boom a thing or just pre-fight trash talk?
Towards the end of the year, you’ll see estate agents start harping on about the ‘Boxing Day boom’ in their shop windows and blogs – is it a gimmick to win your business or really as good as they say?
Over the years we’ve tracked this closely, and we’ve even seen plenty of companies start to believe their marketing and tell their clients it’s the busiest day of the year for online traffic on portals like Rightmove. Spoiler alert – it’s not even close.
You’ll read information saying online traffic DOUBLES on boxing day. Whilst there is some truth in this, they are benchmarking it against Christmas day, one the quietest days of the year when viewing numbers fall off a cliff, because Father Christmas has been the night before.
Traditionally, the day after Boxing Day has higher numbers and so on, going into January, when it goes back to ‘normal’—which, you guessed it, has higher viewing numbers than Boxing Day too. So, why do companies make such a big deal out of it every year? They want houses on the market, and the Boxing Day boom sounds nice.
Below are three reasons why we think following the advice could cost you thousands or make selling more difficult:
1) Would you want to launch your home to market on a day when most businesses are not even open to handle enquiries?
2) You only get one opportunity to launch your home for the first time. Do you think it would be more beneficial to do this on a day, where statistically you know there will be more online views and someone working to handle your enquiries?
3) Morally, it doesn’t sit right with us that companies manipulate the figures, implying this day has abnormally high traffic, when in fact, it’s not even the busiest day of December!
So, what’s the alternative? We recommend you prepare your home for sale and organise the photos and videos to be completed before your Christmas decorations go up. You can then pre-launch your home to the market discretely to a registered database, this will give you constructive feedback on interest and test the price at the same time. In some cases, buyers we have introduced away from portals have paid a premium price to stop the home from going online. If this doesn’t work, you have some great initial feedback and the confidence you’re launching your biggest asset online at a time when more people are actively looking.
Interested in more insights on when to launch your home online? The link below is the best way to connect with the team.
